Articles of footwear of various types, articles of apparel of various types, and articles of sporting equipment of various types are frequently used for a variety of activities including outdoor activities, military use, and competitive sports. The articles frequently contact the ground and/or have soil contact them during use and thus often accumulate soil (e.g., inorganic materials such as mud, dirt, and gravel, organic material such as grass, turf, and excrement, and combinations of inorganic and organic materials) on their externally-facing surfaces when the articles are used under conditions where soil is present.
For example, when articles of footwear are used on unpaved surfaces, both the outsoles and the uppers of the footwear (i.e., the portion of the footwear above the outsole and midsole when a midsole is present) can accumulate soil. The soil on the outsoles can accumulate from the article directly contacting the ground, while soil may be splattered on the upper portion of the footwear during wear.
Similarly, when articles of apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, socks and the like) are worn on unpaved surfaces, the apparel can directly contact the unpaved surface and accumulate soil (e.g., when a baseball player slides into a base) or soil can be splattered onto the apparel during use (e.g., mud can splash onto socks or running pants when running on a muddy surface). Additionally, articles of sporting equipment can directly contact unpaved surfaces during use (e.g., the bottom of a golf club bag may be set directly on the ground while playing golf), or soil can splatter on the articles during use (e.g., mud can splash onto a backpack while hiking).
The articles of footwear shown in the figures are illustrated for use with a user's right foot. However, it is understood that the following discussion applies correspondingly to left-footed articles of footwear as well.